ABSTRACT
The most sudden fall must occur at first, and the value of gold will fall more and more slowly as time gets on, and the total accumulations of gold grow. This is a simple consequence of the fact that gold is chiefly used as currency, so that its value varies nearly inversely as the total quantity in use. The more the value of gold falls, the greater the number who will thus desert the gold-fields, and the greater the decrease in the produce of gold. Again, as the total quantity of gold in use increases so must the consumption by wear and loss increase. In proportion as the value falls the consumption increases and the supply decreases. The discovery of the Pattinson process for separating silver from lead, has been equivalent to the discovery of new mines.
